Safe and Sound
by thebluecrystalrose
Summary: When her brother returned, Starfire believed everything would be perfectly joyous. She had no idea how corrupt her brother had become in the years he had been gone, or what that meant for her friends and family. T for implications. RobStar BBRae CyBee
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wanted to take a step into Richard and Kori's lives as they settled down into marriage, with their daughter Mari. I hope y'all enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Safe & Sound

"Look, Daddy! I'm a princess!" The little three year old twirled around on her tip-toes. She was wearing a light pink dress and her favorite pair of sparkly, silver shoes. Father and daughter were in the backyard of their suburban household, just outside of Jump City, California. The leaves were vibrant green and there were many bright flowers painting their backyard. It was springtime.

Richard Grayson chuckled heartily, "That you are, Twinkle-Toes... Hey, you know what happens to very pretty princesses?"

"What, daddy?" The girl stopped twirling, giving her father a wicked smile.

"They get tickled by the tickle monster!" His hands went toward the little girl and she screamed in delight, trying to force his hands off of her.

"Daddy, stop it, stop it!" The small, black-haired girl shrieked.

"What's the magic word?"

_"Please,_ daddy, _please!"_ Richard stopped, picked the girl up and spun her around in his arms. The girl flung her arms around his neck as the disguised hero pressed his lips on her cheek. From the door, her mother, Kori Grayson watched. Her hands were placed protectively over her bulging stomach.

"I love you Mari Ann Grayson."

"I love you too, daddy!"

Noticing his wife's eyes on him, Richard glanced up. His smile grew wider at the sight of his blushing beauty. He thought of all the heartache, pain, love, and sacrifice that got them to this point in their lives. He remembered the events that took place before their wedding, Kori's brother who had gone down a very wicked path, and the near death of his wife.

Looking at her now, "as big as a flarnop," as she would often describe herself, it was difficult to think of a time where they were near a breaking point. Looking at the love they had produced, looking at their daughter Mari, he was even more thankful for the turn of events that led them to this point in their lives.

"Richard, Mari," Kori called, "it's time for dinner."

Richard nodded and carried the girl to the back door. He sat her down and said, "Go wash your hands, honey." Then, turning to his wife, he asked, "Any word from Rachel and Garfield yet?"

The smile left Kori's face as she shook her head, "I will check my communicator soon after dinner." Before he could open his mouth to respond she said, "And I haven't heard from Victor yet, either, so don't get your hopes up." A teasing smile adorned her face now and Richard embraced her.

"And how's our little man doing tonight, huh?" He was now talking to Kori's belly, rubbing it and kissing it.

Kori giggled, her hand covering her mouth, "How do you know it is a boy? Our child could very well be a daughter."

"Kori, Kori, _Kori!"_ Responded Richard admonishingly, "I knew we'd have a daughter the first time around. It's a dad thing. Our second is going to be a boy."

Kori rolled her eyes and walked toward the circular table that stood under a hanging, emerald stained-glass lamp. She sat down and Richard took his place next to her at the table. "Mari!" Kori called, "Are you done washing your hands yet?"

The little girl came bursting down the hallway and into the kitchen. "All clean, mommy!" She held her hands to her mother, "See?"

"Yes, I do see!" Kori clapped her hands, "Very good, my little bumgorf!"

"Mommy, why do you call me that?" Mari questioned. Her mother had been calling her that for as long as she could remember but as she began going to pre-school, she realized that other kids weren't called that by their parents.

"It's another word for one who needs a parent, from where I come from." Kori responded, taking a napkin and putting it in her daughter's lap as the little girl sat down.

"Oh," was the response and Richard laughed.

The family began eating their dinner together, after saying a prayer thanking God for their daily bread. Richard and Kori ate roast beef with mashed potatoes and green beans. Mari was eating fish sticks and green beans, with mustard on the side.

After a few minutes of eating, Mari pouted, "Mommy, I'm full."

Kori gave a knowing look to her husband who smiled as he sipped his drink, "But Mari, you have not yet finished your fish sticks, nor even taken a bite of your green beans!"

"But mommy, I'm full!"

Sensing a whiny temper tantrum on the verge of beginning, Richard sat his cup down and said, "Now, Mari, your mother worked very hard to make your delicious dinner. Now, I want you to take a few bites of your green beans and eat your last fish stick."

"But daddy!"

"No buts," Richard warned.

The three year old grumbled and soaked the rest of her food in mustard. Richard shook his head in amazement and then looked at his wife. He realized how absolutely grateful he was that she finally learned how to cook normal Earth foods. Then, he laughed silently as he thought of how much she adored mustard when they were teenagers.

"What?" Kori asked, noticing her husband's laughter.

"Like mother, like daughter." Richard managed to get out, taking another sip of water.

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**A/N: Short start. I didn't even intend for this to be a chapter story, but I like that idea better, so I'm going with it. :) Please review, leave your thoughts and criticisms!**

**God bless,  
Rose**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 2

"Daddy, why do people have to sleep?" Mari asked curiously as her father laid her in her pink bed and her mother pulled the covers over her tiny frame.

"So they can be rested enough and grow strong enough to fight off the tickle monster!" Richard responded, tickling his daughter. The girl begged her father to please stop, so he did. He kissed her on the forehead and so did Kori.

"Sweetest of slumbers, my little bumgorf." Kori whispered as she turned out the light and closed the door. As the married couple walked down the hallway, Richard's arm wrapped protectively around his wife's waist, to their bedroom, the doorbell rang. Kori glanced at her husband, who nodded, and flew to answer it. Richard followed, on foot.

"It's Karen Beecher," Kori said, after peeking out the window. She opened the door for their old friend.

Karen stepped in and Kori locked the door behind her. She was wearing an intelligent, black suit and wore her long locks pinned back. "I have news from Victor," she said, giving the pregnant woman a hug and receiving a kiss on the cheek from Richard.

"What's going on?" Richard asked, suddenly acting very in-charge and in control.

Karen glanced around, "Where's Mari?"

"We just put her down for the night," answered Kori. "Please, is there anything wrong?"

Karen didn't answer, but instead asked, "Is there anywhere we can go where we won't be heard, in case she wakes up?"

Richard looked at their friend intensely, wondering what it was that she didn't want his daughter to hear. He let it go for a moment, knowing he'd find out soon enough. He walked over to the television in the family room. He turned it on, adjusted its antenna, and pressed a few buttons. Richard motioned the two to come over. They did, and suddenly were dropped through a hole. Karen and Richard landed roughly on their feet, as Kori hovered behind them.

Karen made a swift motion, transforming her into Bumblebee. Richard did the same, becoming Nightwing. Unfortunately for Kori, they don't make maternity clothing for superheroes so she merely blinked really quickly to have her blue contacts dissolve.

"Nightwing, Starfire," Bee addressed them, pacing in a circle in front of them, "Cyborg and I believe that your children are in danger."

Starfire's hands automatically went to her stomach and the couple looked at each other, worry evident in both of their faces. Nightwing grinded his teeth, "And you let me leave my daughter upstairs, _by herself_?"

"She's fine for the moment." Bee responded. "Beastboy and Raven are still looking into it, but they believe that there should be no real concern until your son is born."

If she thought she could protect her unborn child more by tightening her grip on her stomach, Kori would have done it then. "But... why?"

Bee folded her arms over her chest, "Because your ego-centric, sexist brother desperately wants a male to take his place on the throne.

"But, we don't even know if it is a boy yet." Nightwing offered sheepishly, receiving a glare from his wife.

"Well for the sake of your family, you better hope it is." Bee responded critically. The curiosity soon got the best of her, "Ok, I gotta know, what's the history behind your brother's discontent with y'all?"

Starfire chuckled, "I would say that the word, 'discontent,' is an understatement, dear friend." She took a look at her husband, trying to read his thoughts. He smiled at her and nodded. Starfire took a deep breath and began her story, "Well, as you know, my brother was sent far away for protection of the throne when the Gordanians attacked. Right before our initial wedding day, my brother contacted me. He claimed to be in trouble..."

"Starfire had to make a choice," Nightwing stated matter-of-factly. "If she didn't go, she could possibly lose her only family member left. Galfore had just passed, so her brother had inherited the throne of Tamaran. He was in trouble that summer, and so was Tamaran. If she went, she risked losing her own life."

_Kori gazed at the drooping sun with both anxiety and disappointment. She knew she had to assist her brother, but she didn't want to leave. She had such a bright future in front of her, many happy times and glorious moments. She was about to be wed. Looking out at the sunset now, she cried in frustration. She had been standing there for about half an hour, not quite able to lift herself off the ground to fly. She was void of happy thoughts but knew that she had to force herself to think of something. Suddenly, as her thoughts drifted to what it would have been like to become Richard's wife and the life they would have together, her feet lifted. As she flew to her home planet, she thought all about what would have been. Her hopes were what kept her going._

_Kori had slipped the rest of the Titans sleeping pills during their early dinner that evening. It was supposed to be their wedding rehearsal; it was supposed to be a happy time. It was supposed to be, but it wasn't. She had received a transmission from her long-lost brother, Ryan. He was in trouble and desperately needed her help as soon as possible. Not wanting to waste any time with her brother's life in danger, and knowing that getting married would take too much time out of a rescue mission, Kori made the decision to leave. She didn't want to say goodbye. She thought it would be better if she disappeared._

_Richard woke up with the sun slowly beginning to paint the room with its rays, "Huh?" He said in confusion as he lifted his head from the mashed potatoes and gravy. He took his napkins and wiped it off, then surveyed the table. All of the other Titans were beginning to wake up as well, disgruntled at the food plastered on their faces. He glanced around and became distraught; where was his bride to be?_

_Garfield lifted his head from his salad, "Dude, I knew we were having a good time and all last night, but I didn't realize we were such party animals!" He rubbed his temples as they were in a lot of pain._

_"We weren't partying," hissed his wife, Rachel, "we were drugged you idiot!" Her emotions splattered some pieces of lettuce in his face. She hadn't told anyone this, but at this point she was pregnant with their first child, and was worried that the drug might have harmed the child in some way. It didn't, but the next eight months would be one of immense difficulty for the Logan household._

_"Yeah, and whoever drugged us decided to take Kori with them." Richard stated, pointing out the absence of his bride-to-be. He then directed his attention to his semi-robotic friend, "Vic, can you check your scanners and see if Star is still in the tower?"_

_Victor made a motion and suddenly his arm was robotic. He typed along it and said, "I can't locate her heartbeat."_

_Richard clenched his teeth, "If she was kidnapped, we would have been notified by now!"_

_He almost began running for the main-ops computer when he noticed a folded piece of paper laying in front of where his head was. It had his name written on it, in a loopy, pretty cursive that could only belong to Kori._

_His eyes began scanning the note:_

_My Dearest Richard,_

_Please do not come looking for me when you wake up tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, but I cannot marry you, not now. Tamaran is in trouble, and I have a duty; I must assist... I cannot say when I will return, or if I will ever return. You should know, however, that all of my love is yours. You hold possession of it and it is my sincerest hope that, should I not return, that you pass it on to another woman who can love you as much as I did, as much as I do. Thank you for the love you have shown me throughout the years. I have not deserved one bit of it, but I suppose that is the point. Please do not waste the rest of your life on a broken memory. I'm not worth it. I'll be fine._

_God bless and keep safe,  
Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran_

"I was devastated," explained Nightwing, after reading the only note that he had kept safe in a compartment after all of these years. He grabbed hold of his wife's hand, "I knew she had to help her brother, help her planet, but I knew it was too dangerous for her to do on her own. I'm a worry-wart, apparently. Raven insisted that Star would be fine, but I wanted to help her. I, and the other Titans, went after her in the T-Ship as soon as we could leave."

"It's a good thing they did, too," claimed Starfire, squeazing her husband's hand. "My brother was indeed in trouble, but not for the reasons my brother had acquainted. Tamaran was in danger, but not for the same reasons I had been told. My brother had become a form of tyrant on my home planet, much like Blackfire did when we were younger. He was in trouble because the people of my planet were having an uprising. He expected me to assist him."

Bee's eyes grew wide with interest, much like a child who had just seen her first icecream cone, "What happened then?"

"While they were scrambling to get the T-Ship ready, I had already reached Tamaran. My brother welcomed me graciously, but I was confused. When I flew overhead, it did not seem like Tamaran was under attack, but that Tamaran was attacking my brother. There were mobs everywhere, something unusual for my people for they are usually quite happy with their rulers. They weren't even that upset when Blackfire was in charge." Starfire's face grew contorted, "My brother noticed the confusion on my face and explained that they didn't know what was best for them. Since Galfore had passed, he had taken over and changed everything around, much to the chagrin of Tamaranians."

Nightwing spoke up then, "Needless to say, Star was absolutely furious that her brother was abusing his power in the way that he was."

"He didn't like that very much," Starfire finished. "He had his guards rough me up a bit, and then threw me in the dungeon."

"But you're obviously here now; what happened when the Titans got there?"

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**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please, please review! **

**God bless,  
Rose**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 3

"When my friends got there, I had no idea. I was locked away, had an eye on me constantly, and was beaten almost as much as I was chastised. Now, I would say that I am truly blessed to be alive but while I was experiencing it I did not wish to be alive. I was brokenhearted because my brother betrayed me, betrayed our Tamaran, and I thought I would never be able to see my friends again."

"But Star forgot one thing about the Titans, and she's been known to forget this multiple times in the past. We're not so good about doing as we're told." A smirk toyed with Nightwing's lips.

Starfire chuckled, "I suppose not. Anyway, as the Titans were just pulling into Tamaran, I heard an eerily familiar voice."

_"So, sister, I see Ryand'r captured you as well." There was a spitting noise and Starfire turned her head in complete shock to see her sister in the prison cell next to her._

_"Blackfire! What are you...? Why are you...?"_

_"I got a distress call too, sister dear." Blackfire said in her typical condescending tone. _

_Starfire felt like hissing but bit her tongue. Instead, she inquired, "And you did not support what our brother was doing on our beloved home either?"_

_"Let's just say that I may be bad, but I'm not as bad as he is." Blackfire stated, cleaning the dirt from underneath her nails in a bored manner. "However, I think the main reason is that I like power too much. He was afraid of me."_

_Starfire rolled her eyes and thought, "Yes, of course." She noticed her sister didn't have any scratches or bruises on her body, but didn't say anything._

_"Hey, no socializing while in prison!" One of the guards hissed in Tamaranian, threatening to knock Starfire unconscious with his long metal beam._

_Instead, Blackfire stood up and growled, **"You** listen you pathetic **troq!** You are going to leave us alone, or else." Not wanting to accept any orders from a measley prisoner, the guard changed his direction of swing and knocked Blackfire out on cold ground._

_Starfire sighed in relief. Although she would not wish harm on her sister, she really hated hearing her speak. It felt almost nauseating everytime that girl opened her mouth to speak. She was more than thankful that she would not speak for the next few moments. She didn't know at the time, but she wouldn't hear her sister speak again._

_Meanwhile, at the top of the castle, the Titans were battling a few guardsmen. Their concern for their beloved alien friend had grown when they noticed the group of dead bodies sprawled across the alien-planet's rough terrain._

_Suddenly, Ryand'r broke out the main doors, "Who is it that strikes terror among my guards?"_

_The Titans all stopped fighting and uncomfortably stared at the alien that stood before them. _

_"He looks-" began Cyborg._

_"-just like-" said Raven._

_"Starfire!" Nightwing and Beastboy said together._

_A smile formed on the Grand Ruler's lips, "Ah, you are in search for my dear sister. Come I will show you to her."_

_All weapons and powers stashed away, the Titans followed the strange man into the castle that they hadn't stepped foot into for almost seven years. _

_Realizing how awkward this was and that he probably could have presented himself a bit better to his would-be brother-in-law, Nightwing coughed and scratched the back of his neck. "Um, I'm sorry for fighting with your guards. They must have thought we were intruders or something..."_

_"No damage has been done," Ryand'r held up a hand to silence him. "It has been very difficult these past few months, and extremely difficult for my people."_

_Raven, who could read minds whispered to Nightwing, "Yeah, he seems real hung up about it."_

_"What are you talking about?" Nightwing responded under his breath, trying to keep focus on what the alien ruler was discussing - something about his return to Tamaran after many years of being hidden for his own protection._

_Raven sighed and touched Robin's shoulder, sending him a message through his mind, "He's not exactly welcome here, Richard. Starfire is in captivity along with their sister. I have a feeling this is going to turn messy real quick."_

_Nightwing nodded, supressing a growl that was bound to escape his lips. "So, Ryand'r, where exactly is Starfire?_

_"Not too far down this corridor," Ryand'r replied pleasantly. "You must be her betrothed, correct?" __Nightwing nodded curtly; he had no idea that Starfire had that much contact with her brother. "When are you to be married, anyway?"_

_Nightwing nearly stopped dead in his tracks, "Uh, today."_

_"Oh." Ryand'r said narrowly, "My, erm, deepest apologies, brother."_

_"That's not the only thing you have to be sorry for," Nightwing thought menacingly._

_"Alright, we're here!" Ryand'r announced as they stepped into a large, dark room._

_"The prison cells?" Beastboy squeaked, shifting into a mouse for a moment._

_"Titans, get ready." Nightwing ordered, getting in a battle stance. Suddenly, guards were surrounding them and were striking from many sides. Raven encased them all in a black shield. When her shield broke, Beastboy shifted into a bird and the others sprang into action._

_Ryand'r laughed from a distance, "Oh, silly Titans! I have been watching you for sometime. You will not be able to overcome me and my guards. You will not be able to win back Tamaran, nor save your precious Starfire."_

_From behind them, Starfire screamed in agony as she was struck with a light beam from some sort of ray. Nightwing examined in horror and amazement at the monstrous gun that was shooting his princess. "Ryand'r!" He yelled after throwing a guard off of his back, "What are you doing to her!"_

_As he was fighting he was struggling over to his princess. She was evidentally in a lot of pain, but she wasn't dying. The beam had lifted her into the air, seemingly gripping her by her head. She was fighting against it but each attempt to break free caused her to lash out, her screams so high that they could barely be heard by a human ear._

_"It's called the Tamaranian Mind Defribillator." Ryand'r claimed haughtily. "Unlike the human defribillators, my machine affects the brain, and it only does good for me. It won't cause her any real pain, all pain is sensed mentally, but to her it will feel like her body is being ripped apart."_

_Nightwing threw another guard against the wall, and wiped sweat from his lip. "Why are you doing this, Ryand'r?"_

_"My reasons are mine only," reciprocated Ryand'r, still nowhere to be found by the Titans. "But, you could say that I needed to test this out. I just decided to use it on my loving sister." His words were sarcastic and much like acid._

_The Titans had disposed of all of the guards in the room at this point. Ryand'r merely shrugged it off, "No matter, more will be coming soon."_

_"Titans, get that ray!" Nightwing demanded, and the Titans sprung it action._

_Since the ray could not penetrate through walls, the enclosure around Starfire had been temporarily dismantled by Ryand'r. Nightwing took this to his advantage and pushed Starfire out of the circular area. It was no use because the ray had followed her path of travel; it was holding on to her head._

_Nightwing stared in amazement at the ray, then looked at Starfire, who was crying from the pain she was in. "Raven, do something!" _

_Raven and the other Titans had been ripping bit by bit at the machine while Nightwing attempted to break its grasp on Starfire. They couldn't quite figure out how to make it stop though. When Nightwing demanded her, Raven yelled out, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" _

_The machine split apart and the ray diminished. However, Starfire was still writhing in Nightwing's arms. He picked her up bridal style and exclaimed, "We need to get her to Earth, now!"_

_Overhead, Ryand'r was laughing a crazy man's laugh. "Nevermind you lousy Titans destroying my ray, I can build another one. We will meet again."_

_"We don't have time to go after him," Nightwing yelled at Cyborg and Beastboy as they were both striding toward the source of the voice. "We need to get Starfire home. Now."_

_Raven transported them outside of the castle and into the T-Ship. Nightwing was still clutching his fiance close to him, so he demanded that Cyborg and Raven take over the flight back home._

"Oh my God!" Exclaimed Bee, gaping at her red-haired friend.

Starfire attempted to smile at the memory of the excruciating pain she experienced that night, but she looked more constipated than accepting of it. "I'm alright now, but there was a time for awhile in which we weren't sure if I would live. Raven is an excellent doctor, though. Within a few months, she was able to heal me."

"Geez, they weren't kidding when they said that you were the most resilient Titan member," said Bee in response.

Nightwing spoke up then, "She was horrifically torn in every meaning of the word. She wanted to go back to Tamaran and rescue her people, but she couldn't because she was so horribly injured mentally. Like her brother had said, she didn't really feel the pain but it was real to her. She felt it subconsciously and sometimes that's the worst kind of pain to be in." Nightwing looked at his wife with deep concern written in his masked eyes, "I never told you this, Star, but after we got back there was a time where I didn't think you'd be able to make it."

Starfire grabbed for his hand and squeezed it, "I know." She turned to their friend again, "We were married nearly a year later, when I was fully restored to my normal strength. Cyborg has been keeping his eye on the frequencies between Earth and Tamaran ever since, just in case he calls back." She looked down at her toes then.

"What's wrong?" Bee asked.

"I wasn't supposed to have children," Starfire said after a moment. "Raven believed it would cause too much pressure on my body after such an experience. Nightwing and I were very careful for the first few years but about three years and ten months ago, we made a huge oops."

"We had been doing so well for the first two years of our marriage." Nightwing said, "And we messed up once."

"So Mari was a surprise-baby?"

"I was afraid that they would both die." Nightwing wrapped a protective arm around his wife's shoulders, hardly acknowledging the question.

"I knew we'd be alright though." Starfire looked at her husband with understanding and love written clearly on her face, "I learned from a very wise person how to be hopeful."

Nightwing smiled at her, "Raven seemed to be hopeful too. She ran a lot of tests but decided that Starfire was safe enough to become a mother."

"Wow," Bee said, clearly amazed. She then gave each of them a hug, "I'm sorry for making you explain all of that to me. I'm sure that must have been hard for you to do."

Starfire waved it off, "No problems dear friend. You signed up to help us, so you are certainly welcome to know what you signed up for, or at least all of the information we have to offer you."

Bee thanked her and said, "Well, I better be going. I'm sure Sparky is missing me. I'll see y'all tomorrow."

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**A/N: -wipes brow- Phew! All of that background is finished! Sorry that took so long guys!**

**OK, am I the only one who thinks that Nightwing kissed Starfire before she left in Warp's portal in 'How Long Is Forever?' Because it just looked that way to me... Thoughts? Oh, and please give thoughts about this chapter as well! That'd also be appreciated!**

**Now, I must study! Good night, loves!**

**God bless,  
Rose**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 4

Kori woke up, startled in the middle of the night. Instinctively, she wrapped her hands tightly around her round stomach. "It was just a dream," she whispered. "It was just a dream." She inhaled an exhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. She didn't want to wake her husband, but despite her efforts, she broke out crying.

The lamp on the nightstand turned on almost instantly, "Kori?" Richard moaned as he sat up from his side of the bed, "What's wrong, my love?" His right hand found the small of her back and he began rubbing it soothingly.

"N-nothing is wrong!" Kori hiccupped, "J-just some weird pregnancy dreams. Do you not recall all of the bizarre dreams Rachel experienced when she was pregnant with the twins?"

Richard glared at his wife. She should have known better by now that he didn't fall for her brush-offs of things that truly upset her. _"Kori."_

"Yes, Richard?" Kori asked sweetly.

"You've been having these night terrors every night for the past few months. Are you sure it isn't something I need to be concerned about?"

Sensing the firmness and _don't-you-bullcrap-me_ hinting in his voice, Kori sighed. "I do not know if is to be of concern or not... But, Richard, it's the same dream everytime."

"Kori, if it's causing you so much distress everynight, if it's bothering you in any way, you need to tell me." Richard pulled himself up enough so she could turn her head and look at him in the eye. "If you can, tell me please. I want to know. If I can help, I want to help."

Kori nodded, "It begins with you holding me close to your chest-my clearest memory of my brother's machine. You pull me tightly to you and say, 'I'll never let you go.' You then turn and yell some words to the other Titans." She let out a deep sigh, "I feel the pressure escape from around my head but I'm still in pain."

She was silent for a moment and Richard waited patiently for her to continue. She focused her breathing, hoping it would return to normal soon. "Suddenly, we are no longer in the dungeons of Tamaran, but in a room at Jump City Medical Center. Everything is white around me, I'm still in a lot of pain, and you're holding my hand. Your hand is broken just like it was when Mari was born, but you still let me squeeze it despite my protests." Starfire giggled at that memory. "Raven forces you to put on a boxing glove on your other hand and let me hold onto that instead so she can repair your hand."

Richard chuckled at that memory, "Ooh, yeah, I remember that... Ow..." He subconsciously rubbed his hand where the pain had once been.

Kori's smile faded as she continued her description, "Mari is standing next to you. She is confused. I beg everyone to take her out of the room as I'm pushing and someone finally does. Everything gets frightening very quickly then. The scanners in the room go haywire and everyone gets anxious and is rushing to figure out what's wrong..." Starfire bit her lip in an attempt to hold back a tear, "Richard, our son is going to die when he is born."

Richard picked her up and made her face him at that point. He looked at her long and hard, blue eyes on green. "No, Star, no." He embraced her tightly, not wanting to let her go. His mission was to comfort and understand.

She wiggled out of his embrace and curled herself in a ball next to him, "I fear our family is on the brink of destruction."

"Kori, if that was on your mind, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want you to worry," she mumbled into her arm.

Richard had to physically restrain himself from slapping his forehead. _"Kori._ Come on."

She sat up in a whiny nature, "I know, _I know_. I'm sorry. I just-"

"What?"

Kori pulled herself out of bed, "Perhaps the truth is that worrying just might help us prepare for the very worst." She walked over to his side of the bed and kissed his cheek. She gave him a sad look, "I just wish we didn't have anything to worry about, is all." She began walking out of the room then, "You forget my brother's threat.

"That was all it was, Kori! A threat! How do we even know if he's still alive? He must have run out of your sister's blood a long time ago. We haven't heard from him since you were pregnant with Mari!" He stopped arguing when he realized she was leaving, "Where are you going?" Richard asked with concern evident in his voice.

Kori merely smiled at him from the doorway, "Do not be alarmed, my love. I am merely making myself a glass of hot tea."

She walked slowly and quietly down the dark hallway, not wanting to wake up her slumbering child. She placed her left hand lovingly on top of her stomach. She wasn't due for another few months, yet she was as big as a flarnop. She shook her head incredulously, hardly believing that if it had been seven years ago, she'd be trapped in her own castle. It was even harder for her to believe that she was still able to marry her best friend and create a family with him. She placed her other hand along the wall so she wouldn't stumble.

She began humming a Tamaranean folk song as she turned on the kitchen light and pulled out her light purple mug. She walked over to the sink and put water in her cup, turned around and put it in the microwave for a minute and thirty seconds. She then turned to grab a tea bag out of the pantry. Her favorite was vanilla chai, as was Richard's.

Moments later she sat down at the kitchen table and took a sit of her warm drink. She inhaled deeply, allowing herself to relax. She couldn't help her my from wandering, though. She thought back to her wedding night, when she and her new husband received a transmission from her brother. Bee had been terribly wrong; her brother wasn't attempting to find a replacement for his thrown. He was attempting to save his own life by destroying another.

_Kori, who had just changed out of her wedding gown and into her silk pajamas, pulled Richard flirtatiously over to the hotel bed, giving him a long, tender kiss as they reached their destination. Richard kissed her back but seemed hesitant. He caressed the small of her back and his nerves were electrified at the brush of her touch. They were finally married, he was finally united completely to his best friend._

_Having been trained not to let reason become overshadowed by his bodily desires, Richard broke off the kiss and placed his hands on Kori's upper arms. "You took that pill that Rachel gave you, correct?"_

_Kori pouted, "Richard, I have been on that pill for months on end making extra sure that my body was used to it by the time we reached this night."_

_A wicked smile tugged at the Boy Wonder's lips, "I'm happy to hear that." He pulled her tightly toward him, crushing her breasts onto his chest. Then, he rolled them onto their white bed. He pressed her firmly to the bed and she squealed in delight._

_Richard took his time to memorize every inch of her body and Kori did the same, their lips hooked onto each other like they would never see each other again. As he was about to slip off her pink top, something came crashing through the window._

_The newly weds groaned. Richard wanted to think it was some little kid who accidentally hit his baseball through the window. Hotels aren't surrounded by suburbia, though, and bats weren't even allowed on the property. He pulled himself off of his new wife, and both of their eyes bulged at what they saw._

_"This is extremely awkward, is it not?" Kori whispered as she sat up to face the spherical machine that was floating in front of them. Its screen displayed her brother's face. To their relief, it was a recorded message set to play as soon as it had Kori's attention._

_"Dearest sister," taunted the image of her brother, "I wanted to congratulate on your wedding night. You see, I am not entirely evil; I did let you have your night."_

_Kori huffed, "Yeah, and then completely destroyed the mood."_

_Richard tried his best to suppress his laughter and remain focused at what his brother-in-law had to say. The recorded video was still playing. "I'm giving you a fair warning. Sometime in the near future, I will be coming for you and your first-born son. In case you're curious, it is because I am in need of... genetic help, and it can only come from a male." Richard and Kori exchanged glances then, "I am sick with a rare Tamaranian form of what your earthlings call cancer. Since Tamaranians are superior to earthlings, we have discovered a way to cure it, by destroying the life of one who is of the same sex in our gene-pool."_

_Kori's eyes became giant green orbs and she grabbed for her husband's hand immediately. The screen switched over to an unconscious Blackfire with tubes attached to nearly every inch of her body. There was a red substance travelling in one of the tubes, "For now, I have temporary relief from the blood of our sister. Do not worry about her for she is dead now, but her blood should last me a few years. I only have to drink the essence once every month."_

_Kori gasped at the sight of her lifeless sister and the blood being removed from her body. She didn't like her sister, but she never wished that on her._

_"Tata for now, sister dear." Ryand'r finished, "I have a planet to rule."_

_The screen went blank. Richard got up, dismantled it, then began picking up the pieces of the window. Kori was left gaping at the wall as her husband disposed of the trash. "It looks like we have nothing to worry about, then."_

_"Wh-what do you mean?" Kori managed to get out, feeling like her chest was about to explode._

_"You can't have children," Richard insisted as he pulled himself back on their bed and wrapped a comforting arm around her waist. "We'll be careful."_

Kori chuckled bitterly, "Yeah, _oops."_

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**A/N: As you've probably realized, the rating for my story has changed... Hope your weekends are going well!**

**God bless,  
Rose**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 5

Kori woke up the next morning to find her husband in the kitchen, on his phone speaking to his adoptive father. "Okay, Bruce, I'll wait for the Logans to show up and then I'll drop off the kids at your place shortly." He listened for a moment, "Yes, yes, I'm sure she would love a new doll for her next birthday, which is a long time away, mind you."

Kori waited patiently for Richard to hang up as he told Bruce not to spoil his only granddaughter too much. "I don't want a brat on my hands, Bruce."

At this, his wife rolled his eyes and thought, "Yeah, not like you don't spoil her enough already."

Richard closed his phone and threw it on the counter beside her and directed his attention to the child growing inside her, "Seven months down, two to go little guy." His voice was oddly high-pitched and he was rubbing his nose against her stomach. Kori giggled not only because he was being a goofball, but because it really tickled.

"You heard news, did you not? That is why you are taking Mari and the boys to Bruce's, correct?"

Bruce moved the headquarters for Wayne Enterprises over to Jump City when he found out that he was going to be a kinda-sorta grandfather. He retired a year after Mari was born, allowing Richard to take his place as CEO of the company. Kori wanted to keep her family together as strongly as she could, so she maintained that Richard not spend all of his time at the office or fighting crime.

"There's actually nothing on the horizon as far as everyone else is concerned," Richard replied nonchalantly. "I'm just offering everyone else a break, and _you_ a break, while I go out and patrol."

Whenever Rachel or Kori had become pregnant, they were automatically banned from crime fighting-no ifs, ands or buts. Although it absolutely aggravated the Tamaranian princess, she had no choice but to give in because Tamaranian powers are rendered useless during pregnancies.

Since Kori was pregnant, the others covered her and Richard's patrol times. Richard's because he didn't want to leave his pregnant wife alone when there was a possibility of her brother kidnapping her, like could have happened with Mari. A huge battle had ensued a week after Mari was born.

Despite what Kori had said the night before, he had remembered the threat her brother made all those years ago. How could he forget it? It was easy to blow it off when they initially received the threat because Kori wasn't supposed to get pregnant. After Mari they found out that it was safe enough and were less careful.

"So you're taking Mari?" Kori inquired, rinsing out her mug from the night before with soap and water.

As if she was waiting for her name to be called, Mari came running down the hall to their kitchen. "Daddy, daddy! Pick me up!"

Richard scooped up his little girl, "Hey Mari, how would you like to eat breakfast at Gramps' house with Luke and Michael?"

"But they're _boys,_ daddy! And boys are _gross!"_ Mari squeaked, hiding her face in his shoulder.

Richard looked at his daughter incredulously, then at his wife who grinned at him wickedly, then at Mari again. "But, Mari, I'm a boy!"

Mari lifted her chubby face to look her father directly in the eye, "But you're my daddy. And daddies are _good."_

Kori put a soapy hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. She caught a wink directed at her when Richard responded to Mari, "Oh okay, Mari. But, hey, I promise you that Gramps and Luke and Michael-and even Alfred-will be good today, just like me."

The girl seemed to consider this for a moment, shrugged, and said, "Ok, but only because I like Gramps _and_ Alfred!"

Alfred was becoming more and more frail at this point, but his favorite pastime, when Mari visited, was reading her a fairytale. Sometimes, he told superhero stories as well. He was usually able to tell about three or four-five on a good day-and when he became too tired, Bruce would step in and tell his own stories to Mari, or teach her how to dance.

"Alright, princess, well let's get you dressed and then we'll head on over," Richard set his daughter to the floor and Kori grabbed her hand to pick out an outfit.

Arguments about wearing clothes backwards, wearing no clothes and wearing shoes on the wrong feet ensued within the next few minutes. Richard chuckled as he read the morning paper and sipped coffee out of his favorite red mug. Finally, the girls emerged. Kori appeared extremely disgruntled while Mari was adorning a bright smile, a pink t-shirt, a denim skirt, and her favorite sparkly shoes.

Realizing he hadn't responded to his wife's question from before, Richard said, "Yes, I will take Mari. Rachel and Gar should be over with the boys shortly. They'll spend the day with you."

"What about Victor and Karen?"

Richard shrugged, "They appreciated my offer of having a day off, but Vic ultimately decided that he has too much work to do. Karen wants to make sure he takes plenty of breaks, so she is there to take over every three hours."

Kori shook her head, "When are they finally just going to realize that they want to spend the rest of their lives together and get married?"

While her parents were talking, Mari had scampered into the family room to play with her dolls. Richard watched her for a moment, then replied, "I suppose they're afraid. Afterall, marriage hasn't exactly been a walk in the park."

Kori's mouth dropped, as if he had called her a horrible name. Richard held up a hand in defense, "Kori, don't get offended. I love being married to you. It's been the best adventure of my life. However, it's also been filled with many trials and challenges." He kissed her cheek and the doorbell rang.

Richard welcomed the Logans in, called Mari, and walked out the door with the three children. He asked them if they thought Bruce would give them icecream after lunch. There was evidence of ecstatic replies as Kori closed the door behind them.

She then turned around and embraced her friends in a hug. Rachel took this time to inspect her thoroughly. Over the years, the Graysons had adopted Rachel as their doctor, simply because she always found it to be her responsibility to check over Kori whenever they were together.

"Rachel, I'm fine," Kori insisted as Rachel stood there for five minutes touching her temple. Silently, she praised God that she made the decision not to have another child ever again. Labor was far too painful. She couldn't imagine being in Kori's position and having children.

"You can never be too sure, Kori," Rachel responded monotonously. "Just because you had a relatively safe labor process the first time around doesn't mean that can't change the second time around. Keep in mind that you received some serious damage through your brother's device. Besides," Rachel opened her eyes, "don't think I haven't noticed that you've been having the same nightmare every night since you got pregnant."

"Night terrors are normal during pregnancies," Kori reasoned stuffly, shifting her weight.

Garfield folded his arms over his chest defiantly, "Kori, although I understand that strange dreams are normal during pregnancies, trust me, I know," he glanced at his wife when he said this. "Having the same nightmare everynight is absolutely not normal, whether you're pregnant or not."

Kori nodded in understanding. "So, what would you guys like to do today?"

Before they could respond, Kori felt liquid running down her legs and experienced a lot of pain in her abdominal region. Her eyes widened, "Call Richard, now."

Meanwhile, the kids were all talking joyously as they rode to Bruce Wayne's small manor about two blocks away from the Grayson's. As Richard was driving, his thoughts became clouded with worries about Kori and their unborn child. He wanted to believe that his brother-in-law was dead at this point, but he could never be too certain. Hope was a nice thing to have, but it wouldn't help him if it caused him to be blind of the truth.

_Richard looked down at his red-faced wife and baby girl. He smiled at the two beautiful women in his life and his chest swelled with pride._

_When they had first discovered they were pregnant, Richard was crushed. Kori was beating herself up for it because she had forgotten to take her pill once. Richard was just frightened for the life of his wife and unborn child. It didn't help that as soon as they found out, a message from Tamaran was sent crashing through their bathroom window._

_"Seriously, this guy has to come up with a better form of communication!" Richard shouted in frustration. The message was simple and to the point; Ryand'r was reminding them of his threat._

_Looking down at their bundle of joy then it didn't seem like evil could ever penetrate their happiness again. They had a little princess, so no harm would come to them._

_Or so he thought. It was peaceful for the next week as mother and daughter recovered. Then, all hell broke loose._

_"Nightwing! Come in, Nightwing!" Cyborg's voice boomed through Richard's communicator._

_Richard, who had been snoozing, jolted awake. "Christ, Cy! You could have woken up Mari!" Mari was actually in their room with Kori, being fed._

_"There's no time." Cyborg argued. Even though Richard had decided they were safe, Cyborg wasn't easily convinced. He remained at the Titan's Tower, scanning the skies. "Perform Safety Maneuver X." Richard's eyes widened in horror and he rushed to their TV and into their secret lair._

_In his Nightwing costume now, he typed multiple buttons on the keyboard that sat in front of a huge monitor. "Cy, can you give me a visual?" In no time, a huge image of Ryand'r and his army popped up on the screen, headed toward Earth. He had a wicked grin on his face. Nightwing growled. "Notify the others." He pressed one last button and an invisible forcefield surrounded itself around the Grayson household._

_"Make sure you let Star know," Cyborg warned._

_"I intend to." Without another word, Nightwing was back in his family room and running to his bedroom where his wife and child would be._

_Kori looked up in surprise at her husband. She had been burping her little bumgorf when he burst into the room. "No," she whispered. "I'm going to fight with you."_

_Nightwing shook his head angrily, "Kori, no. You're too weak!" _

_Kori shook her head handing the child to her father and kissing her forehead. "He's my brother. I must. __Everything will be ok my little bumgorf." She stared at her husband for a long time, almost as if they were talking to each other telepathically._

_"Bruce and Alfred should be over with the Logan boys to take care of Mari in a moment. Beastboy, Raven, and Cyborg will meet us outside." Cyborg had found a way to let anyone who was considered a friend to the Titans, as well as the Titans themselves, pass through the forcefield. All they needed was a thumbprint when it was first created, and it would let them through automatically._

_Kori nodded and scrambled to the lair. The door knocked and Nightwing answered it, Mari resting peacefully in the crook of his left arm. Bruce and Alfred stepped through the door with grim expressions. This was the first time they had seen Mari since she was born. Bruce gave Nightwing a stern look and Nightwing nodded, "I won't let him get past us... Bruce, she just ate, so she will probably need her diaper changed soon and then a nap." Bruce nodded. "Thank you guys for helping us out with this. I truly appreciate it."_

_Luke and Michael looked up at Nightwing wide-eyed. Although they had grown up in a superhero household, they had always been forced to stay with Bruce when their parents were crime fighting. Before Kori had gotten pregnant, one of the Logans stayed behind to watch them because Bruce didn't live in Jump City yet._

_"Hey kids, be good for Mr. Wayne, ok?" Nightwing addressed them. They nodded, wide-eyed._

_Kori appeared in her uniform then, looking much like the warrior princess that she was. "Let's take him down." The couple ran out the door together._

_Ryand'r was standing outside the forcefield at this point, and growled when his sister emerged. "So, I see you set up a little protection device. No worries, I will find a way to destroy it soon enough." He spat._

_Starfire's hands were lit with starbolts then and Nightwing took a combative stance next to her. "Leave, Ryand'r. You are not welcome here."_

_"But sister dear, how else am I supposed to continue living?"_

_"You aren't."_

_A red starbolt was thrown at her and Starfire flew backwards, being hit right in the stomach. Nightwing lunged at Ryand'r then, throwing kicks and punches everywhere. His efforts were met by red eyebeams and a sharp kick in the stomach. Nightwing fell back but didn't remain subdued for long._

_Starfire was back on her feet at this point and throwing her own starbolts at her brother furiously. "My child is a female, Ryand'r! She wouldn't even be able to save you if she tried!"_

_Ryand'r was effortlessly dodging her starbolts and cried, "And how am I to know that you are not lying to me, hm?"_

_"Because I have always been truthful to you, Ryand'r." Starfire cried out, dodging his attack._

_"Liar."_

_Behind him, the other Titans were taking on the Tamaranian army. Citizens of Jump City stood around watching instead of finding cover somewhere. The Titans were being beat, and badly. Finally, he subdued Nightwing and Starfire long enough that he was able to walk passed them and rip open the forceshield with his bare hands. _

_The rest of the Titans stared in amazement as he barged through what should have been the strongest forcefield known to man. Nightwing struggled to get up, to throw some sort of weapon at the red-haired alien. It was to no avail, though. He fell back to his knees._

_Ryand'r stormed through the door and ripped the child from Bruce's arms before he could do anything. Then, wondering whether there was actually any truth in what his sister had said, Ryand'r checked the child's diaper. His army around him were blocking the Titans from entrance, and Alfred was doing his best to keep the Logan children from coming out of Mari's room while Bruce knocked Ryand'r in the face._

_He dropped the child in shock and because of the force of impact. "So, it is a female."_

_Bruce caught his granddaughter, who was crying quite loudly now, and Ryand'r retreated with his army._

_Nightwing didn't even bother with trying to stop them. He merely rushed over to the couch and laid his wife on it. She was barely breathing._

_"Bruce, please take Mari in her room and soothe her." Nightwing begged, holding his wife's hand tightly. "Raven, can you do anything?"_

_Raven nodded, placing her hood over her head and got on her knees next to Starfire. She started the process of healing the princess whose body could not handle the stress of being tossed around in a fight. Her breathing soon became regular again but her eyes remained shut._

_"She'll be unconscious for a few minutes," Raven announced, standing up straight again. "She'll be okay though. She just needs her rest."_

_Knowing what this meant, Beastboy spoke up, "So, how do you feel about being a single-parent for a few days, Dick?" _

_The masked hero glared at his friend, "Not now, BB." He kissed his wife's hand, "We'll be ok."_

_Bruce emerged from Mari's bedroom then, "Mari is fast asleep."_

_"Thank you, Bruce."_

"Thank you, Bruce." Richard greeted the former Batman.

"No problem, Dick. I love having the kids around." Bruce beamed, taking his granddaughter from Richard's hands. Mari wrapped her tiny arms around his neck in a hug.

"I'll see you later on this evening." Before he could turn around to leave his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Dick, it's Rachel. Come back home _now._ Kori's going to have a premature birth."

* * *

**A/N: I haven't studied at all yet for my test... Oops... Longer chapter, I know. Sorry! For ****some reason, it seems to me that Rachel and Gar would name their children biblical names. And Luke and Michael sounds nice. :P Also, as you probably have noticed, it turns out that I'm not done with the background stories afterall, like I said at the end of Chapter 3. My bad. Sorry guys!**

**God bless,  
Rose**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Richard nearly dropped his phone, "Get her to the tower's infirmary, _now." _He barked and then turned to Bruce who was still in the doorway, "I'm sorry, Bruce. It looks like you're going to need to take care of the kids for a bit longer than expected."

Bruce nodded, "Let me know if you need anything else."

Luke and Michael appeared at Bruce's sides. Luke had Rachel's purple hair and Michael had Garfield's blonde hair. Luke spoke, "Mr. Grayson, do you need us to do anything?"

Richard glanced at Bruce who returned a knowing look. Richard got on a knee and said, "I need you boys to listen to Mr. Wayne and help him take good care of Mari." The boys nodded, dashing back inside.

Bruce watched as the man sprinted to his car and drove off. "Oh, Robin," Bruce whispered, "if I had know this would have happened when I took you under my wing, I would have been more careful."

Richard, meanwhile, was calling Cyborg on the screen in his car, "Richard to Cyborg."

"Richard, what's up?"

"Have Bee prepare the infirmary and expect the Logans and Kori to show up soon. Keep a tight eye on the skies. I don't want any visitors."

"Uh, something wrong?"

"Kori's in labor."

Immediately, Cyborg barked the orders to his girlfriend. He looked back at his friend with some discomfort, "Dick, what's up with this dude and your kids?"

Richard sighed; he had avoided having to explain this ever since they received their first threat. "I haven't told you guys because I thought it would be my way of respecting Kori's personal life. Evidently, you guys have had to become apart of it... Kori's brother is dying from a rare Tamaranian cancer and the only way he can save himself is to murder a male in his family."

It registered to Cyborg now, "You guys thought that since Kori wasn't supposed to have kids that the problem was avoided."

Richard's eyes remained on the road as he sped toward Titan's Tower, "As much as I love Mari, she was a _big_ oops. Thank goodness she wasn't a boy."

"You think your second kid is a boy, though." Cyborg stated, then added, "Wait a minute, if he needed a guy to kill so badly to live, then why didn't he just have his own son?"

"That's what I asked," Richard muttered bitterly.

_"Wait a minute, Kori!" Richard sat up in their hotel bed. It must have been three in the morning but he didn't care. Kori mumbled sleepily beside him, something in Tamaranian that he couldn't quite decipher. "Kori, wake up!" _

_He poked her bare stomach and she__ nearly screamed, "Richard, what is the meaning of-" Suddenly, she realized that she was only wearing her underwear and quickly made an attempt to cover herself under the covers._

_Richard arched a brow, "Uh, Kori, keep in mind that I'm your husband... You don't need to cover yourself."_

_A blush appeared on her tan face, "Yes, I suppose you are correct... Uh, is something wrong?"_

_"Oh, yeah!" Richard said. He had been gazing at the part of her body that wasn't covered. His cheeks became warm and he tried to keep from admiring her body, "Well, I was just wondering... If your brother is in such a dire need for a male in his family to murder, then why doesn't he have his own kid?" Then, realizing that his statement could imply something more he added, "Not that I accept that or condone that in anyway, it's still a despicable thing to do."_

_Kori, now fully awake, pushed herself up so that her bare back was touching the headboard. "Richard, my brother cannot produce children."_

_Richard cocked his head to the left, "What?"_

_Kori sighed, "Before the thirteenth birthday of the first in line, who was Ryand'r at this point, a test is performed to make sure he is fertile, so he can continue the royal family line... Before the Gordanians came to my planet, my brother was not sent away for protection, but he was exiled."_

_"So he had no other chance," Richard said, starting to feel slightly sorry for the kid._

_Kori shook her head, "No. The only way that it would... work for him would be if he performed incestuous acts, which is a heinous crime on my planet much like it is on Earth." She sighed, "My brother was desperate to prove himself worthy. My parents loved and accepted him despite his inability to reproduce, but he didn't like the idea of being a weakling." _

_"Your brother raped y-?"_

_"Not me," Kori interrupted. "At fourteen, for Tamaranians, female reproductive organs are still not fully developed. He attacked Blackfire, who became furious with my parents. They had no clue what had happened but she was angry at them for letting such a horrible thing happen to her. That is why she sold us out to the Gordanians; she didn't find my brother's exile to be a suitable-enough punishment."_

_"And she had a child?"_

_"If any child came of it, it was destroyed while we were in captivity. It would have been a result from the many tests the Gordanians performed on me and my sister."_

"I'll see you in a few minutes, Cy." Richard hung up. He had arrived at the tower at this point. "BB, is Kori okay?"

"Rae pulled us into the infirmirary moments ago... You should get up here quickly." Richard was slightly annoyed that the changeling didn't directly answer his question, but accepted it anyway.

In two minutes flat, Richard was in the infirmary with most of the Titans. Cyborg was typing furiously at the main computer in the main-ops, making certain there would be no intruder. Richard was surprised to find Kori looking upbeat, sitting up on the infirmary bed. She was slurping a large bottle of mustard.

"Uh...?" Richard wasn't quite certain what to make of this. Moments ago, he had been urgently called and told that his wife was in premature labor, yet there she was looking as content as ever. Women in labor are not the happiest people on the planet, not even if their name is Kori Grayson. As thankful as he was that it wasn't the case, he was absolutely confounded. "Kori?"

"Yes, Richard?" Kori smiled.

"You're not in labor...?"

Rachel spoke up then, "It turns out it was a false alarm. It wasn't that Kori's water broke but that she was bleeding. I have no idea what happened or why she was in so much pain, but she's fine now and there's no baby falling out of her." She folded her arms over her chest, "She was looking paler than me, so I made Garfield get her some mustard. I'm running tests on her now."

Richard kneeled by Kori's face and scooped her small hand in his larger one. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Kori smiled sweetly at him, "Richard, I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but I have always been able to take care of myself."

Richard kissed her hand, "I know, I know, but that doesn't mean I can't worry."

A shout from Cyborg ruined their moment, "Yo, Titans! Get your butts in here now, in costume! Make sure Star is in here too!"

The others quickly changed into their uniforms and Nightwing scooped his wife in his arms bridal style. She was in her purple nightgown and would have to remain so because she was too large for her superhero outfit.

The Titans were all surprised to see the Grand Ruler of Tamaran on the large screen when they walked into the main-ops room. Nightwing growled, "What do you want, Ryand'r?" He set Starfire on the crescent-shaped couch that had been a part of Titan's Tower for over a decade.

"I have another warning for my sister and her family," Ryand'r stated, leaning on a purple and gold staff.

"What is it, brother?" Kori spoke up loudly.

"I see from your current condition that you received my invisible zap from my generator here." A ray beam similar to the one that hurt Starfire so badly all those years ago now shifted into focus. "I performed my own-what do you humans call it? Oh yes, I have performed my own ultrasound to determine the gender of the newest addition to our family." A wicked smile broke out on his face, "And congratulations to me, I'm going to have a nephew."

Starfire subconsciously attempted to hide her growing stomach from the eyes of her brother. "You will _not_ harm him."

Ryand'r looked bored, "Sister, you make me very amused. Of course I will harm him. How else am I supposed to live?"

"You're not." Nightwing hissed.

Ryand'r rolled his eyes, "I have about fifteen cups worth of the blood of our sister left. I will be able to survive long enough to get what is rightfully mine. Tata for now, Titans."

Nightwing nearly punched the operation system in front of him. "I don't care what he thinks, Starfire, we're going to hunt him down before he ever gets the chance to harm you."

Starfire attempted to stand up with much difficulty. "Nightwing, if he senses that you are coming for him, then he will escape a round-about way and capture me while you are searching for him on Tamaran." She held up her hand to stop any protests, "Do not think that I don't know my own brother. It is how he has always operated. He's stealthy and sick in that sense. It is better for us to wait until he comes to us."

"How can you be sure that's the safest option, Star? It wasn't the last time." His voice was angry and his fists remained clenched.

"It's not the safest option, _Richard."_ Kori hissed and she narrowed her eyes, "It is the _only_ option."

* * *

**A/N: Not as an exciting chapter this time around, but hopefully it gets more exciting.**

**If you guys like the story, please review. If you hate the story, please review. I want to know if there's anything I can improve on and how you guys feel about the story. Thank you.**

**God bless,  
Rose**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Nightwing wanted, more than anything, to punch the nearest wall. He knew his wife would no longer discuss it with him. To go with her fiery red hair, she had a fiery temper, and was more stubborn than any of Earth's red-heads put together. There would be no changing her mind and if he even attempted to bring it up again, she would let him have it. Instead, his fists remained clenched.

He soon relaxed his fists, realizing the pain his wife was still in. "Star...?"

Starfire shook her head at him and forced herself up from the couch. She had acknowledged, for the longest time now, that she was to blame for everything that her family and friends had gone through in the past fifteen or so years. She would argue that if she hadn't gone quickly to assist her once sweet baby brother, they wouldn't be at this point. However, she knew that all of this started when she initially came to Earth. If she hadn't attempted to escape the Gordanians, they would all be carefree and oblivious to the dangers of outerspace.

"Words cannot even begin to express the sorrow wallowing in even the deepest of corners of my heart, Richard." She stumbled over to a silver pad near the kitchen that would transport her to the lair underneath her home.

Nightwing and the other Titans remained dumbfounded in their spots. Finally, Nightwing turned to the others, "I guess that means we should prepare our defenses."

He didn't rush after his wife this time; he knew she wanted some time to herself. Richard had no idea how alone Kori really was, though.

Kori, as soon as she got home, began packing a small, pink knapsack. She wasn't sure why she would need to bring her belongings with her, but the action somehow eased her mind. She had just lied through her teeth to her husband, and he fell for it. Perhaps it was because he was distracted by her distinguishable pain or perhaps she had truly become a better liar over the years. Perhaps it was merely because he was ticked off to no end. She would never know for certain.

She knew that Richard would grow to accept the conditions that she had set forth, as it would give the Titans time to create weapons and defenses. The truth was, it wasn't the only option, but Richard would never accept the other option, the safest option.

Kori shook her head in revelation; she had spent nearly her entire life running away. She ran away from the Gordanians, and she attempted to run away after Blackfire caught the attention and affection of her teammates... She ran away when she was going through her transformation, out of embarrassment and insecurities that could only belong to a teenage girl. She was planning on running away when she found out that she was betrothed, a feat that only failed because of the vast amount of difficulty it took to even attempt to conceal moving all of her belongings out of her room. She ran away to look for Ryan. She ran away when her brother asked her for help. She was running away now.

She focused her attention the the beloved child that was so minimally protected in her womb. She wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach, as she had done many times before whenever she sensed danger coming for him. She felt that this was _truly_ the only option.

She would sacrifice herself to her brother. It was the only way to keep a majority of her friends and family safe; it was the only way that Ryan would leave Earth alone. She sighed sadly, wishing that she didn't have to sacrifice her only son in the process. She knew that it would be better for her to die alongside her son than for all of the Titans, Mari, Michael and Luke to die as well. It was inevitable.

Because she was pregnant, she would be completely unarmed upon returning to Tamaran. Her brother would recognize that her only ability would be flying and have the guards leave her alone. It would be quick and simple.

She slid the backpack underneath the bed when she heard Richard's car pull up in the driveway. This would all be over soon.

_"So you were going to leave without saying goodbye?" Richard asked, stepping onto the cold concrete of the tower's roof. Kori stopped dead in her tracks, she had been ten feet off the tower's roof when he interrupted her, again. She flew back down to the ground and looked pathetically at the ground, as if she were going to be scolded._

_"Richard, I know what you're going to-"_

_"Kori, if you didn't want to marry me, you could have just said so." Richard interrupted, holding up the small engagement ring. "You don't have to run away."_

_Kori blushed, realizing how her actions could have been mistaken for that. When she had heard the news, she slipped the ring off of her finger and left it on her pillow. Her intentions were to come back after her brother was found._

_Richard had proposed earlier that night and she had joyously accepted. That was before she had heard the news about Galfore and his sudden death. It seemed as if it were from natural causes, but there was still some debate. Either way, Princess Koriand'r was called home immediately to take temporary control of Tamaran._

_Kori walked toward her fiance and placed her right hand on his left cheek. She smiled sweetly at him, "It is not a refusal to your proposal of marriage."_

_"Then what is it, Star?"_

_"There is some business I need to attend to at Tamaran." Kori responded, "Galfore has passed away and it has been requested that I take temporary control, until a suitable replacement is found. I have demanded that they conduct a search for my brother, Ryan. Until he is found, if he is found, I must go and assist my people."_

_Richard frowned, understanding. He embraced his sweetheart tightly, "Stay safe. Come back to me soon."_

_Kori hugged him just as sweetly, "I will. No worries, my love."_

It was well past two in the morning when Kori rose. She was sure Richard was in a deep slumber at this point. She slipped silently out of bed and changed into a long, white dress. Since she was pregnant, the dress ended at her knees. She pulled her bag underneath the bed then thought against it. She would more than likely be vanquished if her mission was successful. She would not need any of her looked at the rings on her left hand that symbolized her marriage to Richard. She took a deep breath then took them off. She placed them on her pillow but made no attempt to leave her husband an explanation of some kind. He would wake up and understand that she left on her own accord. That was all she wanted.

She began walking down the hallway but stopped at Mari's door first. She opened the door slightly and peeked at the sleeping princess. There was a night-light next to Mari's bed, so Kori could see the peace etched into Mari's face. Kori was about to turn around when Mari woke up.

"Mommy?"

Kori's eyes widened, "Yes, Mari?"

Mari began rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "What are you doing?"

Kori paused before responding, "Mommy's going on a trip, Mari."

"Why?"

Kori sighed, "Don't worry about it, my bumgorf. Just close your eyes. I'm going to ensure that you and daddy are going to be safe and sound."

Mari didn't seem to understand what her mother was implying, but was too exhausted to ask again. Instead, she mumbled something unintelligable and fell back asleep.

Kori turned around but didn't get too far before the hallway lights turned on. Once again her eyes widened in fear. She met her husband's cross glare from down the hallway. "You were just going to leave without talking to me about it first?"

Kori bit her lip, "Richard, you and I both know very well that you would have said no."

"I don't care, Koriand'r!" Richard hissed, "You're my wife. We're _married._ That means that we discuss our problems and come to a compromise if we don't quite agree."

"Richard, it is not something that can be merely fixed by a compromise!" Kori cried out, silently begging that Mari would not wake to them fighting. "It is better for me to go ahead and do this than for you to be killed along with us!"

"Damn, Kori! Why do you have to be so damned brave?" Richard threw his fist into the wall. Kori winced at the impact. If Mari had woken up, she didn't make her presence known to them.

Kori didn't want to waste precious time arguing with her husband. She ran down the hallway, into their kitchen. Richard ran after her, surprised that she sprinted off so quickly. He found her in the kitchen, pan in her hands combatively.

"Kori, you can't seriously... **_He's my son, too__!_**"

Kori looked at her unconventional weapon and then lowered it. "You're right," she whispered, stepping closer to him.

He embraced his wife carefully, "We will figure out a way to do this without anyone having to die. I promise."

Kori almost felt herself falling for his sweet action. She knew he was one hundred percent genuine with his statement; she knew he probably would find a way to do just that, but she didn't have time to revel on possibilities. She needed action, now. "I'm sorry, my love." Before Richard could react, a loud _WHACK! _echoed throughout the house.

Kori stepped away from Richard's unconscious body, "All of my love is yours, but I must go. I'm so sorry." Tears began to pour out of her eyes as she left through the lair. She had to make a stop at Titan's Tower before she left for good.

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**A/N: Comments, questions, concerns? Then click the review button!**

Has anyone noticed that the TT's go against what the world has to say about women in the kitchen? Both Starfire and Raven are said not to be able to cook well at all in the show. Seems funny to me. :D

**God bless,  
Rose**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 8

"What do you mean the T-Ship is destroyed?" Richard bellowed at his T-Communicator.

"It's nothing I can't repair within a few minutes." Cyborg reassured him on the other end of the line, "But it's still a setback."

Richard grumbled something about Kori being a stubborn brat of a princess. His blood was boiling in anger and anxiety. He had to stop her before it was too late, but what if it already was? It would only take Kori a few hours to fly to her home. Then again, Ryand'r would have to somehow induce her labor, and giving birth could take days.

Cyborg broke the silence by chuckling, "I still can't believe that she whacked you over the head with a frying pan."

Richard growled, "Don't you have work to do? Hurry up. I want to be in space within the hour." He ended communication with the half-robot and then turned to face his daughter, who was eating pancakes covered in mustard. She beamed a food-covered smile at her father. Richard chuckled in spite of himself, "Mari, you're going to visit Gramps today."

Mari pouted; whenever something seemed to be wrong with her parents, she was shipped off to her grandfather's house. She wanted to be determined to find a way out of it, but she was only three. Either way, she knew it was important to her father that she comply to his wants. "Ok daddy."

As Richard and Mari were driving to Bruce's house, Kori had just landed on Tamaran. Guards from all around pointed their weapons at her, then lowered them when they realized that she was pregnant. One of the guards recognized her as Princess Koriand'r and ran for the castle doors to find the Grand Ruler.

Kori followed softly behind him. Her hands were placed delicately on her belly. She looked serene in stature, but inside she was going haywire. Her heart was beating unnaturally fast, her palms were sweating from her apprehension. Every part of her brain was screaming at her to turn around while she still had a chance, to run before both her and her child were killed.

She knew she couldn't, though. It was too late the moment she stepped foot on planet Earth, all those years ago.

"Sister," Ryand'r opened the large brass doors. "I see you've come willingly."

Kori closed her eyes, "Hello, brother Ryan. It is a pleasure to see you looking so well."

Ryand'r smiled, welcoming her in. Kori walked forward humbly, allowing him to slip his hand on the small of her back. "We will be going to the Hospital Wing of the castle. Once there, I'm sure I can use the machine I used yesterday to induce labor."

Kori said nothing in response but focused her attention on the walls of the castle that she had once known so well. Memories passed by of childish playtime with both of her siblings. Her parents would watch from not far behind and Galfore would start tickle fights among the three of them. She shook the memory from her mind and instead became attentive to what her fate was once they reached their destination, down the dark corridor.

_"Starfire, you're going to make me spend the rest of my life chasing after you, aren't you?" Nightwing took hold of her limp hand and gave it a light squeeze._

_It seemed like he had been chasing the strange alien girl ever since he met her. He practically turned Jump City upside down after he first met her. He's crossed the galaxy in pursuit of her on more than one occassion. She was like sand falling through the cracks of his fist; whenever he thought he had her, she slipped away._

_In order to stop the pain from penetrating Starfire's body, Raven created a pseudo-comatose state. She had spent about half of the day attempting to heal the alien princess. She was resting now, allowing Starfire's body to do its own healing. _

_Nightwing felt himself staring at her feeble form. She looked so close to death, he thought that a simple exhale of breath could destroy her life._

_"Get some rest," Cyborg's voice emanated through the silence of the infirmary. "Her heartbeat is back to normal, brain activity is looking normal too. Go to sleep, it's going past three in the morning."_

_Nightwing stretched his back in response, not taking his eyes off of his girl. "I'll be fine."_

_"Dick, she'll be in the same place when you wake up, she's not going anywhere." Cyborg attempted to reason with his paranoid friend._

_Nightwing's eyes slanted underneath his mask, "I can't risk that."_

_"Dick, come on man."_

_"You don't get it, Cyborg!" Nightwing bursted out, then took a deep breath. "I lost both of my parents at a young age. Batman took me in and reared me as his own, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that I lost the two people who loved me the most in the world, who I loved the most.__ Before I met Starfire, I forgot what love was. She showed me how to love again, Cy. I can't lose her."_

_Cyborg placed a mechanical hand on the masked-figure's shoulder. "I understand. Take care, man."_

_Nightwing mumbled a thanks and focused his attention on the sleeping beauty once more. "I won't lose you, Star."_

"Tamaran in clear sight." Cyborg announced to the other Titans.

"Good," Nightwing responded as Raven and Beastboy nodded an affirmative. "Expect company soon, I'm sure Ryan anticipated us being in pursuit of her."

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**A/N: Quick update! :) I hope y'all liked this chapter! Please review.**

**God bless,  
****Rose**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I really don't want to write Kori's labor scene. Sorry guys. You should know by now what that looks like. If not, use your imagination if you truly want to... O_o**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 9

"Marvelous!" Ryand'r exclaimed as he carried his sister's premature child over to a strange Tamaranian wash-basin. The young Grayson child was waving his small fists and kicking his feet high and low, side to side. His skin was bright pink and covered in blood. There was a tuft of bright red hair ontop of his head. When Kori heard his wailing, she instinctively reached out her hands to soothe him but she could not.

"I don't understand," moaned an exhausted Kori from the hospital-like bed. "You have what you so desired, why not do the getting on with it?"

The Tamaranian woman had spent about ten hours in labor.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Responded Ryan as he cleaned the child carefully, "Patience, my dear sister. I did not realize you wanted your son gone so quickly."

"I don't, but I had no other choice. If I didn't do that, then you would have gone after the rest of my family."

Ryan stopped all action for a moment, "Ah, yes, but now that you've put it in my mind... I _will_ need an heir one day."

Kori's eyes widened, "What are you insinuating?"

Ryan had finished cleaning his nephew of blood and lifted the child in front of his face. A smile formed on the tyrant's tan face, "I'm sure your sister would make a beautiful bride one day, don't you agree my young nephew? Oh, but you will never know what that would be like, would yo-"

Kori, hand outstretched in a fist, gasped as a green orb hit her brother square in the stomach. He fell back, leaving the infant in mid-air, falling briskly to the stone floor.

_A sleepy Richard Grayson entered his home for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours. He was absolutely worn out, but he would only be allowed a few hours of rest. He would have to return to the office in less than two hours, which meant he only had an hour to sleep._

_The light in the hallway flickered on before he had a chance to close the front door entirely. _

_"Richard?" Came his wife's frazzled voice. _

_Richard groaned in frustration. He should have known that she would get up at this point to feed Mari, who did not sleep well through the night. "Hey honey."_

_Kori folded her arms in a strict manner, "You were supposed to be home by midnight."_

_Richard attempted to make an excuse but realized it would come to no avail, "I know. I'm sorry, my love."_

_"Come in here," Kori said as she went into Mari's room to breast-feed. Richard followed, begrudgingly. He found his wife already situated with his daughter in the rocking chair. "What time do you have to be at work?"_

_"Less than two hours, now." Richard grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously._

_Kori grinded her teeth together in annoyance, "You aren't going."_

_"Kori, I can't just-"_

_"Richard, you've been working for an entire day! I think your employees will understand if you would like a morning off." Kori retorted, rubbing her small daughter's back. She sighed, "Richard, I don't want to be the bad guy, but you promised when you accepted this job that you would leave time for family."_

_"It wasn't just work, Kori, it was also crime-fighting; there was an alert at around eight which caused the rest of my work to shift back a few hours." Richard interjected weakly._

_"Richard, you and I both know that the agreement included crime-fighting." Kori closed her eyes for a moment, trying to relax. "I can't hold down the fort by myself. I know, I know you work extensively day in and day out for all three of your jobs, but sometimes I need a little less money and a little more of you."_

_"It's not that easy, Kori. We do need the money, and evil hasn't stopped existing just because we decided to have a family."_

_"I didn't say that, Richard." Kori's eyes opened to observe her husband. He looked like he had more than a rough night and she was sorry for that, but this needed to get across to him. "You know that if I could I'd be out fighting alongside you. My point is that I never see you anymore, and it's exhausting taking care of a child on my own."_

_Richard reached for her free hand and gave it a light squeeze, "Then, we'll figure something out, I promise."_

_"And you promise to take tomorrow off?"_

_"Sure."_

"That's weird," commented Raven from her pod. "Ryand'r clearly has an army at his hands, but none of them are on the defensive. What's going on?"

"Keep your eyes open," Nightwing responded irritably. Yet, to their amazement, no attempt was made to thwart the T-Ship.

The Titans arrived in front of the palace door. A guard walked up to them, "You're here for Princess Koriand'r, correct?"

"Yes." Nightwing answered for them, still not completely trusting the alien.

"Thank X'hal!"

"Pardon?"

"I shall lead the way to our princess. Please, we've been waiting for this day for many of your Earth years." The Titans all exchanged glances, but followed the strange Tamaranian across the threshold and down the long corridor.

"Through those doors," the guard stopped walking and pointed at another pair of brass doors. "I can't continue with you any longer. Please rescue the princess and her son."

"Thank you," said Raven as Nightwing rushed to open the doors.

His masked eyes widened at what he saw; Starfire with her arm outstretched on a bed, Ryand'r flying backward from impact, and his son falling to the ground. Automatically, Nightwing rolled on the ground to where his son would have fallen. He caught the newborn just in time.

Ryand'r pulled himself back up at this point, "Ah, I should have known the Titans would not be far behind my sister. Regardless, I will get as I wish." Without another warning, he threw a red starbolt where Nightwing and child were at.

Raven wasted no time; a black shield engulfed Nightwing and his son. "Titans, go!"

While the Titans surrounded Starfire's brother and began fighting him, Nightwing hurried to his wife. She wasn't sure whether or not to greet him with a smile or a frown, or at all. She was still burned out from giving birth and she wasn't sure whether she should be thankful or angry that Nightwing came to her rescue once again. "You found me," she decided to say instead, a weak smile forming on her lips.

"Always, my love."

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**A/N: Alright, so a few more chapters left! I haven't decided just how many yet, but it's coming up! :O This feels so weird! Haha. But I hope y'all will read my next fanfiction once I'm done with this! Please review :)**

**God bless,  
****Rose**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Wow! We're in double-digits for chapters now! :O And, just as a warning, I'm not the best at writing fight scenes. I will do my best, but don't expect to be dazzled by my writing capabilities when it comes to that. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 10

Nightwing handed his son to his wife, "If he gets near you, hit him hard." He kissed her forehead, "I love you. Be safe."

Starfire nodded, caressing her child close to her heart and soothing him in ways only a mother knows how to do. She watched as a berserk fight broke out before her. She attempted to cover the ears of her sensitive child. He cried loudly against her chest. She made silent prayers for the safety of her teammates and her son.

Despite being outnumbered four-to-one and being so close to death, Ryand'r fought valiantly. Starfire knew that her brother's starbolts were far stronger than anything she had ever produced. She calculated that when they hit any of the Titans they would be subdued for at least a minute. She also thought that his power wasn't strong enough to harm any of them indefinitely, but strong enough to knock the wind out of them. The fight started off well; the Titans were knocking him around a lot and dodging his hits.

Soon, Ryand'r became angry; he lost all patience. Starfire watched as her teammates flew back from the impact, one by one. Beastboy flew into a glass window, and Raven fell through it after him less than a moment later. A starbolt hit Cyborg and messed with his circuits. The damage to him was so bad that he had to sit down and repair himself before he could do anything else.

Nightwing was the last one left. He made careful notice not to stand in front of the hospital bed where his wife and son were residing because if a starbolt missed him, it would certainly hit them. He dodged the red starbolt that looked much like one that Blackfire possessed when she had taken control of the Tamaranian throne. Nightwing noted that his brother-in-law must have added more force to that one, as it penetrated a hole in the brass doors.

A growl emitted from the Grand Ruler's tight lips. Instead of throwing another sequence of starbolts at Starfire's husband, he engaged him in hand-to-hand combat. The fearless leader soon discovered that Blackfire wasn't the only one in the Tamaranian royal family who had learned alien martial arts. He was thrown across the room, and slammed into a pile of unidentifiable, purple goo.

Starfire readied a starbolt as her brother approached her. He zapped it with one of his, damaging Starfire's power momentarily. "If you think I'm going to let you do thi-"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Silly sister," taunted Ryan. "You already have."

Without another word, Ryand'r threw a starbolt at Starfire's right shoulder and snatched the child out of her left hand. "No!"

"Yes."

He didn't waste any time. He knew that the Titans would be back to fight him off again at any given moment. He stared at his nephew, "I'm sorry for doing this to you, young one, but it will be tremendous help to your loving uncle." He raised a hand and formed a starbolt. Starfire's heart dropped in that second and she tried to jump out of her bed.

"Richard do something!" Starfire screeched, arms raised in helplessness and complete horror evident in every feature of her face.

Nightwing, who had been attempting to free himself from the goo, jolted free when he heard his wife's plea for help. It was too late, though. As he sprinted toward his brother-in-law, he watched in agony as a starbolt embraced his son like an old friend.

_"Do you think we'll ever be able to have children?" Asked an exhausted Kori as the couple watched the local news one evening._

_Richard shifted his weight uncomfortably in his seat. It was true that he wanted children, but he didn't like the idea of the stress it would put his wife under nor the actions his brother-in-law would take to get his hands on their child. "We could always adopt, if you really want to have children."_

_Richard actually liked the idea of adoption. After all, he was adopted after his parents were killed. Perhaps he could be the hope to some child that Bruce Wayne once was to him._

_The suggestion was received with a pout, "I like the idea of adoption too, Richard, don't mistake me, but it just wouldn't be the same. Maybe if we could have our own children first and then adopt..."_

_Richard studied his wife carefully, "Well, Kori, if you really want that then I'm sure we could talk to Raven about it and see if she could come up with a way to make it safe for you. Until then, though, I think it'd be best to wait." __Kori bit her lip anxiously, causing her husband to look at her with more confusion than before. "Kori, what's wrong?"_

_Kori sighed, "Well, I don't suppose I'll be able to hide it from you any longer... I'm pregnant."_

_Richard's bright blue eyes widened, "Uh... What? How did this happen?"_

_Kori giggled lightly. She supposed that this was the best reaction that she could have hoped for. His tone was relatively calm compared to what she was prepared for, but she guessed that he was only trying to portray himself as having his emotions under control. "Well, you see, when a man and a woman really love each other-"_

_Richard held up a hand to stop her from explaining, "Don't. I know how that works."_

_The Tamaranian woman continued to laugh, "I know, I know."_

_"Wait, I haven't noticed any pregnancy tests... How do you know that you're pregnant?"_

_Kori rubbed the back of her neck, a habit she picked up from her husband. "Tamaranians...are quite different to humans. When a woman becomes pregnant, her body knows right away. This is true for both human women and Tamaranian women, but Tamaranian women are more sensitive to the changes in their bodies."_

_A puzzled Richard shook his head in amazement. He knew that Tamaranians and humans were slightly different, but he didn't realize there were specifics down to reproduction. After all, he didn't take Tamaranian Biology 101. He took a deep breath, "So, you got pregnant last night?" Kori nodded. "W__e're having a baby?"_

_Kori nodded again. She grinned brilliantly when she saw a smile flash on the Boy Wonder's face._

"No!" Nightwing yelled, falling to his knees in defeat. It felt like forever had passed when the starbolt hit his son, but he couldn't move his legs fast enough. There was no way an infant could survive an impact such as that.

He was sitting there for about a minute when he heard the Grand Ruler scream in annoyance, "What? How can this be?"

Nightwing's head snapped up and he saw his son, still in Ryan's arms, glowing a brilliant gold color. His expression matched that of his wife's; complete awe.

"I did not believe it was possible," Starfire stated as she stared.

"What is it?" Nightwing inquired from across the room.

"According to Tamaranian legend, whenever a child is born prematurely, it forms an invisible shield around itself. It is intended only for protection until the child can grow strong enough to continue to live, acting as a womb, I suppose. It doesn't fade, though; the child is protected from unnatural harm for the rest of his or her life. When the child is in danger, it glows gold." Starfire explained, still recovering from her shock. "Not many Tamaranian children are born prematurely though; the condition is highly rare to the point that many don't believe that it actually exists."

Ryand'r responded by throwing the child at Nightwing, who jumped to catch him.

"This isn't over!" Ryand'r yelled, flying over to his sister. He picked her up roughly and she squeaked in response. "If I can't have my sister's child, I'll just have to make my own."

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**A/N: It's not quite over yet! :) If you have time, please let me know what you think! **

**God bless,  
****Rose**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 11

A giant black hand surrounded itself around Ryand'r and threw him across the room, "Think again!" Raven hissed from the window, Beastboy was behind her, flapping his green wings.

Starfire fell to the bed with an, "Oof!" Ryand'r hit the other side of the room, generating a loud _THUMP_ throughout the palace. Nightwing and Starfire exchanged glances. Cyborg stood up and edged his way to where the crippled body of Ryand'r laid. The guards burst through the room then.

"Thank X'Hal!" The main commanding officer burst through. "Koriand'r!"

Starfire cocked her head to the side in confusion; the head officer sounded just like her brother, but her brother lay dead on the other side of the room. "Hello officer, I trust you are truly on our side after all?"

"Kori," the officer shook his head and took off the helmet that covered his face. Starfire and Nightwing gasped at what was before him. "It is I, Ryand'r."

"But you can't be Ryand'r, he's Ryand'r." Nightwing pointed to the limp body that Cyborg was now carrying.

"Look again." The red-headed Tamaranian who claimed to be Ryand'r stated.

Nightwing and Starfire looked a second time and gasped when they found Cyborg carrying Blackfire to them. "But I do not understand. If that was Blackfire the entire time, then wouldn't she have needed Mari to save herself? And if that is Blackfire, then why did she threaten to make me have her child?"

Nightwing's face contorted in disgust and he shifted his son to his other arm, "That is absolutely mortifying."

"I did not make the best decisions as a child," Ryand'r said as his face fell. When I raped my oldest sister when I was younger, it brought great grief to my soul as well as the souls of my parents. They did not exile me as you were told, but I ran away. My assumption is that you were lied to when you were told that it had to be the same gender as the person who needed the 'treatment.' From my studies, only the male child can provide a suitable treatment. I also assume that she was just going to kill you, had she kidnapped you."

Starfire shook her head, "I just do not understand; how could she be in two places at once all those years ago? She was in the cell with me and also Ryand'r as he was trying to control everything..."

Ryand'r gave his sister a small smile, "She discovered something on one of her visits to Earth. I think she called it a 'holoring'?" Ryand'r shrugged, not noticing the utter anger plastered all over Cyborg's face. "Either way, she found out how to make herself look like me, and other beings look like her. I believe any Tamaranian blood could provide temporary relief, regardless of genetics."

Nightwing looked at his son and looked at his brother-in-law. "Ryand'r, when did you come back to Tamaran? How were you unnoticed by your sister?"

"I had been back in Tamaran for a few years by the time she took over, actually," Ryand'r explained. "I came back and begged for mercy from Galfore. At this point he was dying. He was very gracious and kind. However, he knew he would die soon. He wanted me to take the throne because he believed it was rightfully mine. However, there were complications."

"Blackfire." Starfire moaned her understanding.

_"K'norfka, how are you feeling today?" Ryand'r inquired as he knelt by the Grand Ruler's bedside._

_"My nephew, you have become such a valiant warrior." Galfore stated, without answering the question, "Your parents would have been proud to see you the way you stand before me today." _

_"You speak as if there is something you need me to know. What is it, Galfore?"_

_Galfore let out a nasty cough that echoed throughout the palace before answering, "Komand'r is coming with an army of her own. I shall not live to see her take over the planet, but I will live to see that you can build up a good resistance. The best way to go about this is to attack from within the regime. When she comes, the army is to surrender right away. You must lead the resistance to overcome her. Our army is too small to accomplish this any other way."_

_Ryand'r nodded grimly, placing a strong hand on his uncle's shoulder. "I understand, Uncle."_

_"The rest of the army already knows of this plan. They are to obey you as if you were their Grand Ruler. And Ryand'r?"_

_"Yes, Uncle?"_

_"Keep Koriand'r safe. If Komand'r gets her hands on her I'm afraid the Titans will have to come to her rescue, but do your best to keep that from happening."_

"We did our best to thwart her missions to kidnap your children. She knew there were spies in the army, but she had no idea who was leading them. We led small missions to ruin her attacks. She had actually originally planned to kidnap you but something happened to our ship's function systems and we had to retreat." A sly smile broke out on his face, "She chose to initiate the pain you felt from her ray as a warning instead. My only regret is that I couldn't completely shake her off your tail and I am terribly sorry for that." He paused, sizing up the masked man that stood in front of him, who held his nephew, "It saddens me deeply that my selfish actions as a child turned our sister into this."

Starfire shook her head, "No, Ryan. Our sister has always been conceited and self-serving, even before your own selfish act." She looked at her brother with a look of acceptance and attempt at understanding. "And you are forgiven for that, I hope you realize that."

Ryand'r responded by embracing his sister in a tight, bone-crushing hug.

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**A/N: Ok, _I'm_ not even sure where that came from. I just didn't want to make Ryand'r evil, in the end. Haha. I'm not sure if I should make this the end or wrap it up in another chapter, perhaps an epilogue of sorts? Let me know your opinions? Thanks!**

**God bless,****  
****Rose**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 12

The Titans had been home in Jump City for the past two days and Richard checked Kori and their son into the hospital almost as soon as they arrived back. To explain the bumps, scratches and bruises on mother, child, and himself, Richard claimed that the family had been taking a camping trip, leaving their three year old at her grandfather's house. The only truth in the statement was that their son was delivered unexpectedly.

Richard stayed with them day in and day out. On the third day of being home, Bruce arrived with Alfred and Mari.

Mari jumped for joy at the site of her parents and scrambled into Richard's lap, "Daddy!"

"Oof!" Richard grunted and then hugged the small child in his lap, "Hello, sweetie!"

Kori giggled weakly at the scene that was before her. Her body had completely recovered from birthing her son in hostile conditions, but she was still weak. Richard had made sure that the curtains were open at all times so his wife could regain her power from the sun.

"Where is my grandson?" Bruce inquired from the doorway.

"The nurses are taking care of him now." Richard explained, "They're trying to understand how he can be so healthy when he was born prematurely." The man chuckled, "To be honest, I'm not sure if I understand either."

"Considering who his parents are," Bruce grinned, "I'd say I understand completely."

"What's my brother's name?" Mari questioned, ignoring the conversation her father and grandfather were having.

Kori and Richard exchanged glances and Kori whispered, "Well, we aren't sure."

Mari looked startled at this response but was quick to state her opinion, "What about Bobby! No, no, Ricky! No, no, Phillip! Wait, I've got this!"

The adults chuckled at the determination in Mari's face as she attempted to pick out the suitable name for her brother. "Mari, why don't you wait until you meet your brother to pick out a name for him? I'm sure seeing him will help you pick one out better," Kori suggested sweetly from her bed.

"Okay mommy!"

A few minutes passed, involving excited conversations between the adults and silly remarks from Mari. Bruce was about ready to take the child home when the nurses came in with the baby boy. He was wrapped up in a soft blue blanket. He was sleeping soundly. Bruce couldn't help but gush at the tuft of red hair that was ontop of the boy's head.

"He's the healthiest thing I've ever seen!" The blonde nurse exclaimed as she placed the bundle in Kori's eager arms. "You're free to take him home, once you name him for us."

Mari's eyes widened at her baby brother and a name came to her almost immediately, "Andy."

Kori and Richard looked at each other. Kori beamed at her husband who smiled back. "I like that name."

"Andrew," Richard told the nurses. "Andrew Peter Grayson."

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**A/N: In case you didn't know, "Andrew" is a Biblical name that means "strong" and "Peter" is Greek for "stone." This is the last chapter. I'm sorry for it being so short, but there wasn't much else to tell. I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**God bless,****  
****Rose**


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